Barker's Crime

In this adaptation of an Eastern European folktale, gluttonous Mr. Gobble refuses to toss even a crumb of his copious feasts to Barker, a skinny hound dog. Ever hopeful, the drooling Barker returns every day to watch Mr. Gobble gorge himself in the garden. Finally, the man demands that police arrest the pesky dog ""for stealing... the aroma of my food."" After a trial, the judge decrees that since the ""intangible"" part of the food was stolen, only the ""intangible"" part of the dog can be punished (kids are sure to pick up a new vocabulary word). Amid a jeering crowd, Mr. Gobble is ordered to whip Barker's shadow. Working an overripe palette of watercolors, Gackenbach (The Mighty Tree) costumes his characters as Revolutionary-era townspeople, lending a certain Poor Richard's Almanac morality to the proceedings. His introduction of a canine character heightens the absurdity in a child-pleasing way. Even so, this version lacks the atmospheric depth and smooth storytelling of Nina Jaffe and Louise August's treatment of the same tale, In the Month of Kislev. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)